The Order of Desaryah

Rumors are spoken in hushed whispers by the survivors of Srezia. Some of them warn of a group of strange, otherworldly beings and human survivors hidden away who have come together for their own safety. More suspicious people insist that malicious demons, witches, and devil-worshippers have formed their own devious cult in the cursed forests to practice their twisted beliefs. Others speak of rumors that say that the Cult was born long ago and even played a role in the Cataclysm. Yet, some others simply dismiss such outlandish accounts, refusing to believe that such a cult exists...

...but they do not understand what they cannot see.

--BACKGROUND--

The Order of Desaryah is the most ancient and powerful cult remaining in the post-Cataclysmic world. They are extremely secluded and reclusive, mostly keeping to themselves and residing in underground caverns and the ruined forests of southern Srezia, where they make their home in the Obsidian Forest and its subterranean cavern system. Their local reputation leads many to either fear them, misunderstand their purposes, or even completely dismiss their existence. Before the Cataclysm, the Order was a tiny, fledgling group that was subject to extreme religious and spiritual persecution. They practiced their occult beliefs in complete seclusion in Srezia for nearly a century, becoming accustomed to their new lifestyle hidden away from the rest of the world. For many years, they were safe.

But this safety was not without cost.

Something was disturbed in the caverns during the events of the Cataclysm. Something dark...something unnatural...something shrouded in the unknown. Thus, the Order of Desaryah was reborn from the apocalypse.

REGIONS

--The Obsidian Forest--

Situated near the southern coast of Srezia, the Obsidian Forest is comprised of some of the remnants of the forests, river deltas, and wetlands of the continent. Before the Cataclysm, the area was a rich, natural paradise brimming with wildlife that thrived in the pristine environment. When the Cataclysm struck Srezia, the rivers became tainted and the forests began to blacken and twist into a sickened image of their former glory. Recently, in the aftermath of the Cataclysm, the Order of Desaryah has returned to the surface and claimed the entire forest as their own. The forest is mostly ruined and petrified from a combination of pollutants, warfare, geological activity, and mysterious occult practices, but the Order considers it to be sacred. It is home to the Graveyard and the sprawling, underground caverns beneath the surface.

--The Caverns--

The hallowed ground beneath the Obsidian Forest is interwoven with an intricate system of subterranean stone caverns, stretching deep underneath the surface and spanning for miles. These interlocking caves and tunnels are completely hidden away from the rest of the world, and outsiders can only imagine what lurks beneath the dark forests above. The Order made these caverns their home and refuge for many years, carving elaborate structures out of the stone itself.

These caverns have a dark and twisted history. Cultists of the Order were often persecuted and even killed for their beliefs. After the Srezian government demanded the death of every cultist, they had no other choice but to leave Srezia, abandon their beliefs, or find some place to hide - unless they were willing to be executed. When the caverns were discovered, the few hundred cultists that remained quickly took the opportunity to seal themselves inside, where they were safe for nearly a century - even through the Cataclysm and the devastating war on the surface, the cultists survived because of their haven and refuge in the caverns.

--The Temple--

No outsider has ever set foot inside The Temple, and it is rarely (if ever) spoken of outside of the caverns. Somewhere underneath the center of the forest, within the labyrinths of the underground caverns, lies the heart of the Order. The Temple, the most sacred and integral place known to the Order, is a place of worship and ritual where every Cultist is initiated, every demon is summoned, and every major ceremony is held. The underground volcano that created Srezia is located in the heart of the caverns, and serves as the central shrine of the Temple as a place of worship and source of otherworldly power.

--The Graveyard--

During the Cataclysm, the immense death rate was uncontrollable. The citizens of Srezia decided they would have to do something with the bodies as they littered the streets of every Srezian city. They were often burned or thrown into mass graves far away from the cities to prevent contamination, and thousands of corpses were disposed of within a clearing in the Obsidian Forest so they would be isolated from the rest of the population. The Order of Desaryah claimed this land after the Cataclysm, but it is unknown why they would want to control such a bleak, desolate place of burial clouded with the horrible memories of the death and terror that the Cataclysm caused.

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Within the Order, different groups and ranks are divided into Circles. These Circles include the highest ranking individuals, known as Priests or Priestesses, as well as others such as Summoners, cultists, and summoned creatures. Overall, the Order has a total of about three hundred members on average.

When he was born in New Nagasake to a family who practiced the beliefs of the Order, Andarien showed an affinity for understanding the Order's rituals and tapping into energies that most other cultists could not. His family realized that he was destined for greatness within the Order, and they relocated him from the city to study with the Priests and Priestesses of the Order who lived in the most remote places in Srezia for Andarien to hone his skills. He was destined to become a Priest, but when the Cataclysm hit Srezia, most of his mentors within the Order were killed while he was still young. He took it upon himself to protect the remaining survivors, and is often seen as one of the guardians of the Order after working to save many lives and organize the remaining forces of Desaryah. Today, he acts as the War Priest, and his duties include leading other members of the Order into battle when necessary.

Andarien is an adept battlemage, and he has a considerable amount of skill as a swordsman but his true power lies in his spells and supernatural occult abilities. He is a master of dark runes and healing runes, which makes him a formidable opponent and a worthy leader in battle. He is focused on the protection and continuation of the Order of Desaryah, and although he is not particularly quick to lead his brethren into drawn-out hostile affairs, he will take any opportunity that presents itself to advance the beliefs of the Order.

Aralynn The Tribune Priestess

Aralynn was born into the Order as the heiress of a long line of Priests and Priestesses. She has held one of the highest ranks within the Order since her initiation at birth, and she acts as one of the official "diplomats" to decide the Order's codes and doctrines and handle issues with outsiders. Although Aralynn is not highly skilled with any magical or combat abilities like the other Priests and Priestesses, she is well-known for her keen intelligence, sharp attitude, intuition, and undying devotion to the Order.

Sienna The Raven Priestess

Sienna, or the Raven Priestess as she is often called, is one of the most mysterious individuals of the Order. Almost nothing is known of her, except that she resides somewhere in the Obsidian Forest and ranks amongst the highest echelons of the Order. Her powers have become something of a legend amongst many people, and she is often considered to be a myth to those who don't understand her or refuse to believe that she is real - even within the Order.

Summoners are individuals that possess the ability to create, control, or manipulate any creature, demon, undead, or otherworldly being. They belong to a sect of their own within the Order, and they are highly revered amongst the other cultists even though they do not possess the authority that the Priests and Priestesses do. Summoners are often chosen from the cultists for their abilities and skills, and they devote their lives to studying the ancient arts of the Order's rituals and ceremonies. Each summoner has at least one focus, or field of specialty, for their summoned beings - demons, spirits, creatures, or necromancy.

The Oracle

((Info coming soon))

Focus: Spirits, Demons

Azkarosh

Focus: Demons, Creatures

Astrah

Focus: Necromancy, Spirits

Young Astrah was always a troubled girl, even before her initiation into the Order. As an orphan, she spent her earlier years being moved from foster home to foster home, continually being rejected by her new 'families' because of her "violent, disturbing demeanor" and tendencies towards uncontrollable behavior. She is rumored to have escaped from the psychiatric ward of a children's mental hospital located near Harbor Hill at the age of eight during the Cataclysm. No one knows how she survived or why she was drawn to go to the Obsidian Forest, but she made her way there immediately for reasons that only she knows. When she found the Graveyard, she made a new home for herself within the mass graves, living happily amongst the horrible death and decay around her.

When the cultists of the Order eventually found her living alone in the Graveyard, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of corpses, they knew that there was something different about Astrah. She had developed a strong connection towards her new home amongst the Graveyard, even speaking to some of the corpses and remains as if they were imaginary friends, and she eagerly agreed when the Order offered to take her in and teach her their ways. Astrah has learned the arts of summoning, and she has an innate ability to connect and control the undead. She is one of the only Summoners powerful enough to have mastered the arts of necromancy.

Kesrai

Focus: Creatures, Spirits

Although Kesrai's skill in the field of summoning can't be denied, most of her brethren within the Order consider her to be completely insane. She often 'experiments' with summoning, which has resulted in many failed rituals and unintended results, such as the creation of Zaiyah. She is the lowest-ranking summoner within the Order, although she is completely and utterly devoted to the point of radical fanaticism. Most of her experience is based on summoning demonic creatures and beasts.

Cultists make up the majority of the Order of Desaryah, since this group includes all the people within the Order that have not reached a higher rank. While most cultists are survivors which joined after the Cataclysm, some of them have been members of the Order for years and others were born into the cult. They are the most diverse group within the Order, since they come from so many different backgrounds and places across all of Srezia, and even from different parts of the world. What brings them together is their devotion to their brethren and their ties to the Order. Cultists are devout and their beliefs in the Order's doctrines are strong - sometimes even bordering on fanatical.

SymoneThe Bloodletter

((More info to come))

Zaynon KrossThe Devoted Psychopath

Zaynon Kross is a former military chaplain who has been convicted of murder, arson, and several other serious charges. He is a delusional, psychopathic serial killer who is obsessed with occult beliefs and the teachings of the Order of Desaryah. He is wanted by the military, dead or alive, and there is still a very high bounty offered for his capture or elimination.

After he escaped a high-security military prison during the events of the Cataclysm, Zaynon was able to evade capture long enough to leave Fort Harbinger. Because of his prolonged exposure to the high levels of the virus as well as radioactivity and nuclear waste, Zaynon must constantly use a rebreather to avoid further infection. His exact location is currently unknown, but he is believed to be traveling from Fort Harbinger towards the Obsidian Forest. His beloved Annabelle is his accomplice in crime, but she was able to escape long before he was and she is believed to be aiding him in fleeing to the forest to rejoin the Order.

Annabelle Kross Stealth Operative and Weapons Specialist

Annabelle was trained as a covert military operative, and she specializes in combat and stealth operations. She was born into the Order of Desaryah and loyally practiced their beliefs all of her life, although she never informed the military. When she was asked to undergo genetic enhancement for her military specialization, she refused and subjected herself to intense, occult body modifications to improve her performance instead. Annabelle was able to bolster her strength and speed with ritual modifications with the aid of the Order, but she was hospitalized after these modifications resulted in severe physical and mental ramifications. The military soon discovered what had happened, and she was immediately discharged for her occult practices.

When a chaplain, Zaynon Kross, was brought to her aid, Annabelle converted the pious man's devoted beliefs towards the views of the Order while she was in recovery. Together, they struck back against the military through a series of destructive killing sprees across Fort Harbinger. They were both imprisoned and sentenced to execution, but Annabelle escaped while Zaynon stayed behind and vowed to follow her when he could escape captivity. Annabelle made her way to the Obsidian Forest, where she waits for her beloved to return to her one day.

Kairne Child of the Runestones

Jonathon Stone was born into a military family. When young Jon was diagnosed with a rare condition affecting his bone tissue, his family sought treatment for him. His parents brought him to the top medical experts at Fort Omen, who promised a cure. He resided as a patient at the military hospital for many years, hoping for a cure which was never delivered, while both of his parents were killed in combat during the war. When the Fort was quarantined during the viral outbreak, the surviving patients were abandoned by the military, and Jonathon was left for dead on the streets as an orphan. Many of the patients who possessed the knowledge that Jon did were killed in order to maintain the military's confidentiality, but Jon escaped.

He tried to survive as a wanderer while the world collapsed around him. During the Cataclysm, he made his way across Srezia, hoping that he would find refuge somewhere - but all he found was destruction. No one would accept him, believing that his condition was a sign of the virus and that he was infected. Eventually, Jon traveled to the Obsidian Forest where he was taken in by the Order of Desaryah. In exchange for his servitude and knowledge of Fort Omen and its secret operations, the cultists of the Order began a ritualistic process to permanently cure the young man they now knew as Kairne. His weakened bones were infused with runestones, which he can control and use in many different ways. Kairne has the ability to manipulate these runestones implanted in his body into telekinetically powered blades as well as exoskeletal armor and a variety of other uses.

Devon

((Info coming soon))

Valrien

Valrien is a newly initiated cultist, and as such, he must prove himself in the Order. While traveling alone in the southern forests of Srezia, Valrien honed his skills in hunting, tracking, and marksmanship. He is above average with these skills, but he is still being trained in rune magic, swordsmanship, and other combat abilities. As part of his initiation, he has been appointed underneath Zaiyah to earn his place in the Order.

The Order fortifies its ranks with summoned creatures. The summoned may include magically summoned beings, corrupt creatures, the undead, and more, all of which may serve a variety of roles from basic servants and fighters to powerful, elite soldiers and demonic beasts. Every summoned being is created by a Summoner using runic magic, and they are divided into the categories of demons, spirits, creatures, and necromancy.

Demons are powerful, sentient, humanoid beings that are summoned from what many believe is a different plane or illusionary reality. They are the most "permanent" summonings and they are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to banish or destroy. Since each demon is powerful and completely unique, they are considered a more integral and essential part of the Order.

Uzorah

Sometimes, the Order needs someone to be removed quickly, silently, and without a trace. When that need arises, Uzorah is often the one to carry out the Order's wishes. She is a demon summoned by the Oracle to act as an assassin, and she is able to strike swiftly, brutally, and entirely without question. Her eyes are dark and soulless, and it is said that, before she moves in for the kill, her skin becomes covered in swirling, runic designs.

Uzorah has extreme superhuman speed, coordination, agility, and perception. She has a range of skills specialized towards assassination and stealth, such as the ability to manipulate shadows and strike completely unseen and unheard. Her skill with short blades, destructive rune magic, darkness, and stealth makes her a deadly adversary.

ZaiyahThe Half-Demon Wild-Child

Zaiyah is a half-blooded demon who currently resides in the Obsidian Forest. Her summoning is widely regarded as a failure, as she was the result of a botched ritual which was intended to summon an entirely different demon - although she still has begrudgingly found a home amongst the Order. She has an extreme distaste for outsiders, as she has never left the forest in which she was summoned and thinks of the outside world as a disgusting place. She treats anyone who comes from any place outside of the forest with hatred, contempt, and possibly even paranoia. Recently, Zaiyah was exiled from the Obsidian Forest for disgracing the values of the Order, and she must prove herself through completing tasks and fulfilling the will of the Order before she may return.

As a half-blooded demon, Zaiyah possesses several supernatural traits as a result of her summoning. Aside from the obvious physical differences which give her skin, hair, and eyes unnatural colorations, Zaiyah also has some of the aspects of a demon, but in weaker proportions. Zaiyah has superhuman speed, perception, strength, and several other unique characteristics, although not to the extent that other full-blooded demons may possess. She also wields a pair of runeblades which she has a notable amount of skill with, but she is only a fraction as powerful as her fully demonic counterparts.

Every Acolyte follows the order of one mysterious being known only as the Warden. He stands guard over the Obsidian Forest, ensuring the safety of his people. The Warden is timeless, rumored to be a being from the depths of the Caverns who has come to the surface to protect the Order of Desaryah from outsiders. Some insist that he is only a rumor, but when something threatens the forest, the thought of his presence is foreboding and sinister enough to drive away some of the most adventurous explorers.

The Warden was summoned by the Oracle, the most powerful of all the Summoners, and he is one of the only summoned beings aside from the demons which has been maintained for a long period of time with sentient intelligence and a specific role in the establishment of the Order. No one has ever seen what the Warden is truly capable of, although many believe that he is the embodiment of the spiritual energy of the Oracle and all of the Acolytes, which would make him one of the most powerful summoned beings within the entire Order.

The RuneborneThe War Priest's Elite

Runeborne soldiers are summoned entities who are entirely dedicated to the commands given to them by the Order when they are under control. They are among the Order's most elite front-line warriors, and they are often responsible for defending the Obsidian Forest or, more rarely, being sent elsewhere under command of a Priest or Summoner. Although only few Runeborne may exist at any given time due to the difficulty of summoning and maintaining them, they are devastatingly powerful when controlled by a Summoner and still formidable when commanded by others who can control them. There are variations between light soldiers (top left) and heavy soldiers (top right), but all Runeborne are adept at swordsmanship and rune magic.

The SpiritborneChildren of the Spirits

Spiritborne are beings composed partially of pure runic energy. Their energy can be channeled directly into their bodies, weaponry, or magic abilities. Because of this, their abilities usually leave them completely unstable due to the high amounts of unharnessed energy that they hold. The Spiritborne are usually used as shock troops, since their attacks - whether used as bursts of magical runic energy at a range or focused into powerful melee weapons - are extremely effective for a short time before the Spiritborne lose control of their own energy and the Summoner can no longer maintain them.

The AcolytesGuardians of the Obsidian Forest

Most outsiders who venture close enough to the Obsidian Forest will eventually encounter an Acolyte - the mysterious, nameless figures who seem to act as the protectors of their homeland. In many cases, Acolytes are not permitted to leave the Obsidian Forest as their entire existence is bound to the service of the Order. Their duties include driving outsiders from the forests, protecting their brethren, acting as basic foot-soldiers, and upholding the beliefs of the Order. All Acolytes seem to be of average strength and intelligence; they are all swordsmen, and their most useful abilities are their innate and interconnected awareness, and unwavering fortitude for the defense of the Obsidian Forest. They seem to be of average strength and intelligence. Although it is impossible to tell how many Acolytes dwell within the Forest at one time, it seems that every time an Acolyte dies, a new one takes its place.

Creatures are beast-like, animalistic summoned beings that are often otherworldy or demonic in nature. They are amongst the lowest ranks of the entire Order. They lack human intelligence, and they are often completely wild and untamed when they are first summoned. Most creatures can be trained and handled to increase their effectiveness and some are used for combat, defense, utility, and more. Some summoned creatures are harnessed and bound to their Summoners, while others are summoned and then left to their wild instincts.

Arrhak

The arrhak is a large reptilian beast that is often used by the Order for mounts because of their speed and fortitude. They are sometimes used in combat to a limited extent, although they are generally more effective for transportation or as beasts of burden. A skilled summoner is able to create and maintain several arrhaks at once with ease, giving a group the ability to travel swiftly with protection from most predators and enemies that the arrhak beast is either able to kill, outrun, or outmaneuver. Without handlers, arrhaks are generally neutral towards their summoners and slightly aggressive towards others, but with enough training, a newly summoned and wild arrhak is able to be tamed and trained effectively.

Arrhaks average nearly seven to nine feet in length, five feet in height at the shoulders, and weigh about three-hundred pounds. They have armored scales which protect them relatively well against most weapons, and parts of their bodies are usually covered in spikes, especially the head and tail, when the arrhak is summoned for combat or protection.

Hellhound

One of the most basic creatures that a Summoner can conjure is the hellhound. Often, a pack of wild, bloodthirsty hellhounds is the quickest and most efficient answer to most threats. This canid beast is often used in many situations by creature Summoners because of its adaptability for a wide range of uses from combat and labor to companionship. Hellhounds can be trained and domesticated, and some are even kept by people within the Order as pets and protectors.

Orreghar

The orreghar is a massive, hulking monstrosity that stands upright at nearly twenty feet in height and weighs around fifteen-hundred pounds. An orreghar is difficult to summon and maintain - especially while the Summoner is also controlling other summonings - and the Summoner often has to exert most of his power to control it. Although it is slow and stupid, this creature is brutally powerful, and its size gives it enough strength to fight off most of the foes that aren't intimidated by its beastial appearance and demeanor.

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